CC01/XC Hummer H3 build

[pantablo]

the overall width is 3mm wider and it has a positive 3mm offset so the back side will be at the same place if you had a regular touring car wheel with the wheel sticking out farther. If you can find one with no offset it would be better. If not, those wheels look good regardless.

[rampage]

Thanks, Pablo! Awesome info as usual! Looks like they'll be good then. They only make teh wheel with a 3mm, 6mm and 9mm offset, no 0mm offset option..which kind of stinks, but oh well. I've got other wheels with 3mm offsets..I'll put them on the rig tonight and see what kind of issues I may run into.

[monkeyracer]

Originally Posted by rampage

I thought about trying to use the originals, but they're an odd size. They're like 2.1" or so, not 1.9 and not 2.2..They're just a really odd size. They look too big for the truck, and that's the thing that really kept me from trying to use them. They just look too big.

The HPI wheels are 29mm width, instead of the standard touring car 26mm, but I don't think that'll make a huge difference with the Dirt Grabber wheels. Also the minimum 3mm offset worries me a bit, but if push comes to shove I ca use skinnier hexes.

I've seen the "Odd size" thing on other wheels as well.
2.1" scales up to 21" wheels, and I thought those were supposed to be 17's on a 1:1, so ya, those are a little big. I think you may be able to sell them as spares for other hummers.

The extra 3mm shouldn't be that big of a deal, place a spacer on your existing wheels and see how far it really pushes the wheels out. And as you said, you can always just use skinnier hexes to compensate.

[rampage]

That's a pretty good idea, selling them to people for spares on their Hummer projects. Or maybe even someone could use them on a bigger Hummer. The Radio Shack H2 body is quite a bit larger then this H3 body, so maybe someone could use the?

For now, I think I've settled on the 29mm HPI wheels. Tower doesn't have them yet, so that gives me a little time to replenish the play-funds.

About painting the wheels, I've done a bit of research. Some say strip the chrome, others say primer over it and paint. Do you think the later method will give long-lasting results?

I did a little more work tonight, but nothing really worth taking pictures of. I beefed up the rear shocks with the 3.20lb springs a few nights ago, and went ahead and did the fronts, too, with 3.85lb springs. The front seemed a bit mushy, and when pressed down, the arms would always be a bit above level--not good! So, stiffer springs and a little ride-height adjustment got rid of the mushiness in the front and give it a bit of "spring", with arms returning to a slightly negative angle--just the way I want them. Also cleared a bit of room between the wheel and the arch, something I'm sure I'm going to need with the Dirt Grabbers.

I also replaced the steering servo. Found the Associated steering servo to be the cause of a lot of RX glitches. Replaced it with your run-of-the-mill Traxxas servo for now, until another high-torque unit can be found.

I also need to find a better way to secure the steps. Thinking epoxy between the layers of double-sided tape. Keeps them a bit flexible, while being really stock on good.

[rampage]

So I got her out in the dirt today, just to see how things would go. I have a whole lot of soft sand around my house so it's not the best terrain for a scaler, especially a pig like the H3 (She's heavy!), but it worked out pretty well! Can't wait to get my Dirt Grabbers and some actual rocks to put her on!

Anyway, here's some pictures!

















And a bit of a canyon run! As a Pajero, it used to make this trip easily. I wasn't sure how it would go thru with the much longer wheelbase of the Hummer, but it did great!



I also took a video, but I'll have to upload it to youtube..Never done that before, so it should be interesting!

[rampage]

Boredom, and a little bit of goofin' around in Photoshop got me these:

Front plate:



Rear plate:



I always wanted this plate..Lol.

[monkeyracer]

Originally Posted by rampage

Boredom, and a little bit of goofin' around in Photoshop got me these:

Front plate:



Rear plate:



I always wanted this plate..Lol.

You could use these if you wanted to:




(I gave you an extension on your registration)

A little bit of photoshop, and my license plate font... There you go!

I can send you the .psd if you want it.

[rampage]

Those look great! You must've found a better generator then I did..Lol.

[monkeyracer]

Actually, I followed acme's link to RT's Blank Plates page:

blankplates.com

found the california plate,

then, I found a picture of a font that was close, and created a font for it, added a bevel effect to the font and color matched to a sampl plate,

then I found the frames you used, and some pics of expiration tags, added the frame shadow and saved the file.

Here's my page on where to get the font:
How to make your own license plate

Hope those will work for you! (If you want to send me the stock Hummer wheels as a thank you, I wouldn't object...)

[rampage]

Those most definitely work for me! I resized them to 120x69, and I think that'll be about the right size!

I'd send you the Hummer wheels, but I think I'm going to try to adapt the center cap to fit the HPI RE30s. That would be awesome. But if that doesn't work out, I'll let you know.

[pantablo]

Originally Posted by rampage

About painting the wheels, I've done a bit of research. Some say strip the chrome, others say primer over it and paint. Do you think the later method will give long-lasting results?

Just paint them. No prep at all. That's what I do.
These used to be chrome when I got them. I painted them gunmetal. No prep. I can't remember if I even bothered to clean them.




I dont do much prep because after you beat on them enough they look like crap anyway, lol.



whenever possible I buy the wheels in whatever color I want to use (usually black or silver) so when it scratches it doesnt show, like the painted chrome ones above. doesnt bother me too much though.


The current wheels on my rover are black but I painted them flat black to look more utilitarian, and they'll scratch black on black.

[rampage]

Great info as usual, Pablo! Thank you! I'll just primer them and spray them. I'll also be sure to keep a black Sharpie on hand to fill in scratches..Lol. I found that with my Pajero..the black on the trimmings scratched way easier then the "burnt orange", and my solution was to just fill in the scratches with a sharpie. I've done it on the Hummer, too. Out wheeling somehow one of the rear panels got a healthy scratch and was showing yellow..had to fill it in!

The body itself, I don't think it's going to scratch easily. The yellow color seems to be as much as a second plasic layer as it does anything else, not just paint. It's hard to describe, and it's extremely smooth, but if you look at it you can see it's extremely finely textured. I know there was a scratch, but some windex and some scrubbing and I couldn't tell you where that scratch was anymore..Lol.

[rampage]

I got my license plates printed out, built up between pieces of lexan and mounted on the truck.

A big thanks to Monkeyracer. I had the plates put together the way I wanted them, but he went the extra mile and detailed them, made a great-looking font and the likes. The results are stunning.



Yes. "My other car is a Warthog." I enjoy the Halo universe.





Rawr.



The current stance of the truck with the heavier springs..I like it very, very much.

Being such a heavy rig, I am running into issues with roll, tho. Has anyone ever done swaybars on a CC01? I'm thinking heavily about it. She doesn't seem to like to return to a center, level position after a significant amount of body roll.

Coming along nicely, I think!

[monkeyracer]

Looking good! Those plates really do look nice!

[rampage]

I went ahead and painted the door handles, mirrors and antenna. The chrome just wasn't doing it for me at all. On the 1:1, the chrome door handles and mirrors are an option, by default, they're black, and that's the look I definitely like more.







The paint I used is a high-temp paint for outside use on things like grills and the likes, so I'm hoping it's durable. I sanded the parts pretty well before laying paint, so hopefully it'll stick well. I also like that it's a flat black, not glossy.

I also worked on the interior a bit, lining up the interior panels with the dash correctly. I also relocated the back seats.







With the seats moved back, it looks better from the outside, the seats are no longer tweaking the body posts, which allows the body to sit straighter, and it allows better access to the battery terminals for charging without removing the front seats.

I wish Tower would hurry up and get my RE30s in stock!

[rampage]

I added a sway bar to the rear. It works very, very well in it's intended role and is soft enough to not inhibit flex, but it does seem to inhibit rear suspension travel quite a bit. It's odd. It doesn't bind, but it seems to not have as much travel as it did without the bar. I'll tweak it a bit and if I don't like it I'll remove it. It does what it's supposed to do, and stabilizes the truck very well. No more massive body roll.

[rampage]

Has anyone had any experience with the SDI Grip Dr. tires? I notice that their a mm less in diameter and a few mm narrower in width, and I'm thinking they may fit this build better. I'm worried about the Dirt Grabbers clearing the wheel wells, and I noticed the Grip. Dr. tires are smaller in almost every dimension, while still being bigger then the stock Pajero wheels.

Anyone tried these against the DGs and have any feedback? Pablo? You seem to be the wheel man, let's hear some good news!

[rampage]

So I'm still banging my head against the wall on the tire situation here. But I'm really starting to wonder--would a 95mm+ tire be too big?

The BFGs I've got on there now are between 86 and 88mm, which is really close to the 33" tires included with the Adventure package. They're narrow, and they fit without rubbing, while filling the arches pretty well..

I've also been reading that BFGs are a good all around trail tire, which is what I'm looking for in general.

What do you guys think? For general wheeling, are the BFGs worth keeping? I can't find anything in the 86-88mm diameter range. Everything seems to be 95mm+, and I'm really worried they won't clear the wheel wells.

I was also doing some reading regarding the offset of the stock Pajero 5-spokes. Does anyone know what their offset is? I've seen some say it's 2/3mm..

I still plan on using the LP29 RE30 wheels as soon as they're available, and using the center caps that came with the original wheels to complete the look, and going with either gunmetal or black for the wheels.

[rampage]

New wheels. BAMF-4 wheels from www.createacrawler.com. Amazing quality, perfect parts fit, very reasonable prices and fast shipping! Thanks, Troy!

Wheels are 2.0", and the BFGs fit fine. No glue required.











I love 'em. I recommend CAC wheels to anyone and everything. Amazing product and Troy's an awesome guy to work with!

I also beefed up the rear suspension with 3.50lb springs. Took some of the sag out of the rear and now it self-centers right so I could get rid of the sway bar. Tightened up the links and got the wheels centered in the wells, and just some misc tidying up of things until I can get the rest of my parts.

[j0e]

awesome! those wheels are perfect for an h3.